Samsung has announced its decision to adopt Windows Azure to manage its Smart TV infrastructure in order to achieve significant reduction in costs, and an increased capacity to meet its growing customer base and higher productivity.

Samsung provides Smart TV service in 120 countries around the world, and
more growth is planned. Samsung needed a solution that could support
ongoing, reliable service and its continual increase in traffic and did not want to be dependent on specific suppliers.
The company tested other products but ultimately chose the Windows Azure
as the service infrastructure because it offered the required
reliability to meet its mission-critical needs and its planned expansion
of service.

"After extensive testing, Windows Azure is the only cloud offering that
met our exacting conditions," said an official at Samsung Electronics'
Visual Display Business Division.

Compared with the cost of expanding its in-house IT services, Samsung
achieved a tenfold cost reduction by choosing to manage its
infrastructure in the cloud. In addition, Windows Azure gives Samsung
the ability to help secure the server and storage resources it needs
quickly, giving Samsung the time to focus on providing high-quality
software and services to its customers.

Samsung attributes this success to the scalability of its IT
infrastructure, including Windows Azure, which consistently provides
smooth, fast service. The company also observed greater speed of service
in Asia, where it sees most of its Smart TV traffic.

"Samsung Electronics' Smart TV is taking advantage of the unique
capabilities of Windows Azure," said Bob Kelly, corporate vice president
of Windows Azure at Microsoft. "Windows Azure gives Samsung the ability
to focus on its business rather than having its technical team deal
with problem-solving and troubleshooting issues."